SPX tacked on a few more dollars to set a new all-time high, closing at $1791, up $9. But RUT lost a dollar to close at $1111. This is beginning to be a familiar pattern with SPX leading the bull charge while RUT lags behind. This is not a bullish indicator. RUT has led this bull market trend all year, but has lagged behind for the past couple of weeks. RUT set new highs in October around $1123, but has yet to return even close to those levels as SPX sets new all-time highs toward the end of October and through today. All of this adds up to a dangerous time; we are overdue for some type of breather. That breather may be more or less benign. It could be simply a period of sideways choppiness or it could be an ugly correction. The longer the market trades higher and higher, the higher the probability of a severe correction.

Trading volume was mixed today with the trading of the S&P 500 moving slightly higher at 2.2 billion shares, while trading volume on the NYSE dropped 6%. But trading on the NASDAQ increased 9%. The VIX is almost unchanged, dropping about two tenths of a point to 12.4%. That low VIX reading tells me that the large institutional players aren't concerned about this market as yet. But I think they should be.

Initial unemployment claims were flat with 339 thousand and continuing claims were precisely the same as last week at 2.874 million. Tomorrow brings the Empire manufacturing survey, industrial production and capacity utilization reports, but normally those reports don't cause significant market moves. But it is hard to predict what might move this market.

Happy birthday to Prince Charles (and me). As usual, his birthday made the news, but mine...